Smoke alarm battery life?

[knut]

I have been in my new house for just under two years now, and all 4 smoke alarms have run through at least one backup battery.

They are 120v alarms, First Alert 9120B, and a GE 350CX (which, one day, I'll wire into the Elk). There is AC power present at the alarms.

Batteries used include cheap Eveready 9v Alkalines, but also Rayovac 9v Lithiums. The latter are advertised to last 10 years in smoke alarms, but two of them have given out in under 12 months each.
This is in Texas, so temperatures can run high occasionally when the AC is off.

I want to stop wasting batteries, so I considered using rechargeables... But the 250mAh offered by 9v rechargeables would put me on a ladder once a month, i'm afraid.

I'm wondering if this is a common experience, or if there is a specific battery to use to fare better ?
(I had hoped the rayovac Lithiums would be it.)

Regards
Knut

 

[hagak]

Most rechargables have high self discharge rate which makes them a poor choice for smokes. I would just use akalines and replace ever 6 months.

 

[Desert_AIP]

The recommendation is to change batteries when you change clocks to/from DST, twice a year.
You can probably get by with once a year though.
Cheap insurance.